The world was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Soft light poured through the torn curtains, painting the room in pale gold and ash. The air still smelled faintly of smoke, burnt magic, and blood — remnants of the night's destruction. Yet within that stillness, something fragile was being rebuilt.
PP's potion glimmered faintly in a crystal vial beside the bed, its scent sharp and metallic. His spell still lingered in the air — a protective hum of healing energy, barely holding together Nani's body.
The Supreme stirred. Slowly, painfully.
When he opened his eyes, they glowed faintly — the color of ember and moonlight mingled. His skin, once flawless, bore faint streaks of luminous burn marks that pulsed like veins of gold under pale flesh. Half his body still shimmered with the echo of the guardian's light — a reminder of how close he'd come to burning away entirely.
But he was alive.
He turned his head, and there — beside him — lay Sky.
The guardian's chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, peaceful in a way Nani had never seen before. Even in sleep, his expression was soft — a little pale, but whole. His hair spilled across the pillow, a tangle of dark silk against the light sheets.
For a long moment, Nani simply looked at him. The guilt and pain he'd carried for centuries settled deeper in his chest, almost too heavy to bear. He'd sworn not to let this curse take Sky again... and yet, he nearly had.
"Stubborn wolf," Nani whispered, voice rough with exhaustion.
His fingers brushed a strand of hair from Sky's face, a touch reverent, almost trembling.
Sky stirred faintly but didn't wake. His body leaned unconsciously toward Nani's warmth, as if drawn by something older than time itself.
Nani exhaled softly, then slowly, carefully, pulled himself up from the bed. Every movement made his burnt skin tighten and ache, but he bore it in silence. He reached for the robe Felix had left on the nearby chair — clean, white, the faint scent of herbs woven into the fabric — and slipped it on.
The room's wards glowed faintly around the edges — PP's work, layered with Felix's runes. They kept the chaos of the world outside from seeping in. But Nani could still feel it — the distant tremor of unrest, the pull of darkness gathering again.
He turned one last glance toward Sky before stepping to the door.
"Sleep a little longer," he murmured. "You've earned it."
Then he pushed the door open and stepped into the corridor.
Outside, the air was cool, damp with morning mist. PP's lair sat hidden deep in the forest, surrounded by wards and illusions, but even here the smell of death and scorched soil lingered. In the distance, the wolves' low growls rolled like thunder — the sound of restless sentinels guarding what remained of hope.
Nani drew a slow breath, steadying himself. His power still flickered unevenly beneath his skin — unstable, fractured by the curse he'd forced back when he saved Sky.
But there was no time for weakness.
Not anymore.
He looked toward the faint outline of dawn breaking over the treetops.
Somewhere beyond that horizon, the Council was already moving. And so was Dew.
-----
The air inside PP's lair thickened the moment Nani stepped into the main hall.
Every head turned.
The quiet hum of discussion — the shuffling of maps and whispered strategies — stilled as his presence filled the room like a storm breaking through glass.
Even weakened, the Supreme was terrifying.
His aura — once restrained, elegant — now rolled through the air in heavy waves of power. The scent of blood, silver, and something ancient curled around him. His steps were soundless, but the ground itself seemed to shiver beneath each one.
William straightened immediately, bowing his head slightly.
"Supreme."
Kazen and Juno — both alphas, both proud — instinctively dropped their gazes in acknowledgment. The wolves' hackles rose, not in defiance, but in reverence. Even they could feel it — the power that once shattered a continent.
Nani's eyes swept across the table, over maps scattered with ink marks and hastily drawn sigils. His voice, when it came, was calm — but under it thrummed something lethal.
"Update me."
William didn't hesitate. "We've secured the perimeter with the wolves' help. My guards are setting layered wards — one physical, one blood-bound. But..." He paused, exchanging a glance with Felix and PP. "The Council has begun to move. Their message was clear. They know the Guardian has returned."
Nani's jaw tightened. His golden eyes darkened, a flicker of red burning at their depths. "Of course they do."
He turned slightly, acknowledging Kazen and Juno with a curt nod. "Your loyalty will not be forgotten. I know the risk you take by standing here."
Kazen folded his arms, his deep voice steady. "The Guardian is not just yours to protect, Supreme. He's ours. His blood runs in our kind. His flame belongs to the Moon."
Juno, still pale from his wounds, inclined his head. "We will stand until the last breath."
Nani's gaze softened for a moment — then hardened again, colder than steel.
"They can't defeat me," he said, almost to himself. "But they can corner me. And they will."
His eyes flicked briefly toward the door, toward where Sky rested.
"They will come for him. For my only weakness."
The room fell into silence. Even the wolves didn't breathe.
Felix finally spoke, voice low but urgent.
"We confirmed it. The summoner needs Sky's blood to complete the awakening. Once Mara has a drop of the Guardian's essence — he will return fully. And nothing on this earth will stand against him."
A deadly calm settled over Nani. The veins of gold on his burnt skin pulsed faintly, glowing brighter with each heartbeat.
"Then we must move before they do."
He turned to the alphas.
"Kazen. Juno."
Both straightened instinctively.
"You will take the Guardian to safety. To your elders — to the Moonlight Pack lands. It is where his power was born. The moonfire there will heal him, strengthen him, teach him control."
Then to Felix and PP — his tone brooked no argument.
"You two will go with them. Protect him, guide him, and do whatever it takes to stabilize his power."
"And Billkin?" William asked.
Nani's gaze flicked to the young wolf near the door.
"He goes too. Sky trusts him."
The decision hung in the air like a blade.
And that's when the door opened.
"No"
Sky stood there — pale but steady, dressed simply, his eyes dark with exhaustion and emotion. The faint marks of his guardian light still traced his skin, faint gold beneath his collar.
He had heard everything.
For a moment, no one dared to move.
The silence after Sky's words felt like the world holding its breath.
The Guardian stood in the doorway — his jaw tight, his eyes steady on Nani.
"I'm not leaving you," he said quietly, almost gently.
"But I'm not running either."
Nani turned toward him, the edge of command already in his eyes.
"Sky—"
"No." Sky's tone cut through the air, sharper than a blade. "You don't get to decide this alone."
He took another step forward, his breath trembling but his will solid. "I won't run while you stay behind to bleed for me. Not this time."
The silence that followed was deafening. The wolves' ears twitched, uneasy; even William tensed.
Nani exhaled slowly. The power inside him flickered — restrained, but sharp enough to make the air hum. "Sky, this isn't pride. This is survival."
"I don't care." Sky took a step closer, his voice rough with emotion. "You always say you can handle it alone, that you need to protect me, but look at you, Nani—"
His gaze dropped to the faint glow that still crawled across Nani's burned skin. "You nearly died because of me. Again."
Nani's expression softened for only a heartbeat. Then, with the precision of a blade, his tone shifted back to control.
"If they find you, if they take even one drop of your blood—"
"Then let them try," Sky said, fierce now, his chest rising fast. "Let them try to take it from me while I'm still breathing. You said you wouldn't lose me again. Then stop treating me like I'm already gone."
"And if you stay," he said, "you'll finish what the curse started."
Sky froze.
Nani continued, calm but devastating. "If you lose control again, if your light burns me one more time, I will not survive it. My body has reached its limit. Do you understand what that means?"
Sky's breath hitched — guilt, fear, love all twisted inside his chest.
"You think I want that?" he snapped. "You think I want to hurt you?"
Nani's voice dropped, softer now — too soft for the power that trembled behind it.
"I know you don't. That's why I'm trying to send you away."
He took a slow step forward, until they stood close enough that Sky could see the pain in his eyes. "If keeping you safe means I burn for it, then I'll do it again — and again — until there's nothing left of me."
The room went absolutely still.
Felix blinked, mouthing a silent holy hell.
PP, awkwardly half-turned toward his cauldron, muttered, "I did not sign up for a front-row seat to an immortal heartbreak."
Even William — stoic, unflinching — subtly shifted his gaze to the far wall, pretending to study the map.
The wolves exchanged looks that said everything: this Supreme's in deep trouble.
Sky's eyes glistened, his throat tight.
"Then stop deciding for both of us," he said, voice low, trembling with emotion. "I'm not leaving you to face this alone. I'll fight beside you — or I'll die beside you. That's my choice."
Nani's lips parted, but no words came. The burn along his chest flickered with a faint pulse of gold — the mark answering Sky's defiance.
Then Sky turned sharply, eyes wet but blazing, and walked out of the room before anyone could stop him.
The heavy doors slammed behind him.
For a long, painful beat, no one moved.
Felix cleared his throat carefully. "So... uh, should we just—pretend we didn't hear all that? Or—"
PP cut him off dryly, "You open your mouth one more time, Felix, and I'll hex you into a love potion."
Even William almost smiled. "At least we know the Supreme still has his fire."
But Nani didn't speak.
He stood still, staring at the closed doors, his hands trembling just enough that the light around him flickered again — the faint echo of a heart that had already burned too many times.